Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed that tourist arrivals increased by 20% in December 2017 compared to the same month of 2016.
In December 2017, a total of 143,041 tourists arrived in Maldives, according to the Monthly Economic Review of MMA. It attributed this boost to the increase of arrivals from the European market and the Asia and Pacific region.
The Maldivian central bank revealed the growth in the European market stemmed from a significant rise in arrivals from Italy, coupled with the increase in arrivals from Russia, the UK and Germany. The growth in the Asia and Pacific region was driven by a remarkable increase in arrivals from China, coupled with an increase in arrivals from India during this period, according to MMA.
Furthermore, MMA stated that during the month, total bed nights of the resorts recorded a significant growth of 31% in annual terms and the average duration of stay increased from 5.7 days in December 2016 to 6.1 days in December 2017.
Economic Review of MMA stated the occupancy rate of resorts improved from 69% in December 2016 to 81 percent in December last year, despite the annual increase in operational bed capacity of resorts by 10%.